The company said earlier this week that 30 jobs would be cut at the network, with those responsibilities redistributed among OWN, Discovery and Winfrey’s Harpo Studios.

Harpo, Inc.

Oprah Winfrey

Neal Kirsch, a long-time Discovery executive and chief financial officer of the company’s U.S. networks, will be moving to OWN in the roles of chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Among other changes, Discovery’s executive vice president of global production management and business and legal affairs, Lee Bartlett, will team up with OWN’s head of business and legal, Tina Perry. Ian Parmiter, senior vice president of marketing, for Discovery ad sales, will take charge of integrated marketing for OWN.

OWN has struggled since its January 2011 debut, as an initial audience of about 500,000 viewers dwindled to around 250,000. Winfrey’s best friend, Gayle King, left the network for a role on CBS’s
“The Early Show.” Earlier this month, OWN had to cancel a talk show hosted by Rosie O’Donnell, another of Winfrey’s pals.

Since September, however, the network has managed a double-digit increase in ratings. Winfrey’s series “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” which debuted in January 2012, was No. 1 among all cable networks at 10:00 p.m. with women 25-54 on Sunday, March 11 when she interviewed family members of the late singer Whitney Houston.

Media industry observers say there are a number of reasons why Winfrey has had difficulty. One of them was just addressed by Discovery’s job cuts. “I think a lot of the problem was the burn rate was very high,” said David Johnson, chief executive of public relations agency Strategic Vision LLC. “They had too many staff members, and the other thing was, she automatically assumed that because her name was tied in with it, that would automatically guarantee success on television.”

Discovery put up a reported $250 million to launch OWN.

“OWN’s biggest mistake was and continues to be brand diffusion,” said Scott Creamer, chief executive of The Screamer Company, an advertising and marketing firm. “For 20 years, Oprah was the brand. Her message and style were carefully created to be clear for her audience. OWN tried to grow and expand too fast. Viewers weren\’t sure if OWN was Oprah or something else.”

Creamer said the network’s decision to include “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” on its schedule was a clear indication that OWN didn’t understand its market. “Oprah and her brand stand for uplifting, positive, self-improvement and self-esteem building for women, while Rosie has always been more direct, controversial and crass. Rosie is a great TV talent, but her show and her personality didn’t fit with the traditional Oprah viewers and followers.”

To Steve Lanzano, president of TVB, the not-for-profit trade association of the commercial broadcast television industry, Winfrey’s platform has made the biggest difference. ““I think it just has to do with the nature of cable television,” he said. “On cable, you are competing with several hundred different, smaller cable channels.

“On broadcast TV, not only do you have better ratings, but you have a better platform for promotion. People forget the power of the broadcast networks and their affiliated TV stations, and the mass of people they deliver every day. In fact, if you were to ask most people, if you could only have five networks, which ones would you pick – ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are always among them. Out of the top-rated 100 shows broadcast each week, they represent between 95 and 98 of them. So it’s not so much what Oprah did wrong; it’s largely the difference between cable TV and broadcast TV.”

“Also, trying to program an entire network, 24/7, and to even get people to find it on their cable dial, is very, very difficult,” Lanzano added.

Winfrey has to become even more involved with the network, beyond “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” said Debra Caruso, owner of media relations firm DJC Communications. “For the network to succeed, Oprah Winfrey must expand her presence, perhaps with a daily show that airs in the afternoon or in prime time,” Caruso said. “She must also invest in quality sitcoms and dramas that fit with the OWN branding. Wouldn\’t \”Hot in Cleveland\” [seen on TVLand] have fit in well with the OWN brand?”

Caruso said Winfrey can turn the network around. “I\’m just surprised someone of her knowledge and past success didn\’t have a stronger launch,” she said.

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